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About the Center |
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Research and Evaluation DivisionResearch that Informs PolicyFrom the outset, a strategic goal of the Institute has been to engage with policy makers to improve decision-making for children and families based on current scientific knowledge. Research & Evaluation Projects
Dauphin County Delinquency PreventionThe first Harrisburg Center project, Dauphin County Delinquency Prevention, was funded by the Governor’s Partnership for Safe Children and was coordinated with the local Community That Cares Initiative and the Harrisburg School District. The project was designed to build social competence and reduce aggression in elementary school children living in neighborhoods with high rates of delinquency. Over a four-year period the project implemented the PATHS Curriculum with K–4th-grade teachers in three Harrisburg elementary schools. This program was supplemented with both parent education and mentoring provided by Big Brothers/Big Sisters to a limited number of students. Building on this early success, four other substantial projects have been initiated by the Harrisburg Center in collaboration with the Harrisburg School District and other community partners. Back to TopDevelopment and Evaluation of Preschool PATHSA central concern of the Institute is the development of preventive interventions that build children’s social and emotional competence and resiliency. Led by Dr. Celene Domitrovich and with the close cooperation of the Capital Area Head Start Program, a new version of the PATHS Curriculum was developed for preschool children. Using a randomized trial design (that also included the Lycoming-Clinton Head Start), findings indicated that new Preschool PATHS leads to improvements in children’s knowledge about emotions as well as their social and emotional competence as judged by both teachers and parents. The early research on this model was funded by federal offices of Head Start; however, the area Head Start programs have now fully implemented and sustained this program through local funding. Back to TopThe Harrisburg Preschool ProgramOne of the greatest concerns of communities is preparing children to be ready for schooling. Children showing greater readiness are much more likely to succeed throughout their formal education. The Harrisburg Preschool Program (formerly called REACH), funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, supports both the implementation of an innovative model of preschool programming intended to create long-term systems change, as well as the evaluation of this initiative. This evaluation is a multi-level model and represents a strong partnership between several Penn State University researchers. At the first level, the project will follow the development of over 300 young children over a 6-year period to assess the model’s effects on academic and social competence. The second level of evaluation, led by Dr. Linda Burton and researchers from the Center for Research on Diverse Family Contexts, qualitatively assesses the effects of the Harrisburg Preschool Project on the attitudes and behaviors of both teachers and parents. The third level of evaluation, led by Barbara Carl, Director of Research and Evaluation at CAHHDI, includes assessment of school district operations, as well as broader systems change that is planned between the school district and community agencies, families, and other stakeholders. Back to TopSafe Schools/Healthy StudentsConducted in coordination with the Harrisburg School District, the Prevention Research Center provides training, technical assistance and evaluation to the SSHS project. This initiative has multiple goals that are intended to create system change that leads to improved prevention, mental health treatment, and academic outcomes for Harrisburg students. This wide-ranging project involves a number of innovations, including the development of new models for assessing and tracking students' social and academic functioning as well as the introduction and support of prevention programming from preschool to high school. Evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of a comprehensive prevention strategy (REACH preschool program, universal drug prevention and social-emotional curriculum, school-based mental health services, transition program for 8th- and 9th-grade students) is designed to involve the educational, social service and law enforcement agencies in a coordinated effort to reduce violence and promote the health of children and families in a moderate-sized, urban community. Back to TopHOPE (Harrisburg Outreach for PATHS Expansion)Funded by the Center for Mental Health Services (MHS), HOPE is a collaborative initiative involving Dauphin County Mental Health, Harrisburg City Schools, and Penn State. The goals of HOPE focus on institutionalization of the PATHS curriculum in Harrisburg schools, training and technical assistance to behavioral health providers to initiate linkages between the language and goals of mental health prevention and treatment, and a community education program focused on improving the competence of children and caregivers to provide nurturing social and emotional environments for children. Back to TopDauphin Capacity Building Project EvaluationThis initiative represents a strong partnership between Penn State and the Dauphin County Collaborative Board. A coaching model was developed in this partnership, which provides local, grassroots organization in Dauphin County with training and coaching in the Outcomes Logic Model. With training provided by Connect Synergy, a local consulting firm, the goal of this project is to increase organization capacity by educating them on how to write solid grant proposals to secure funding. While the project was only meant to be a six month pilot, the results are so encouraging that Dauphin County has agreed to fund the project for an additional year. Back to TopGovernor’s Institute for Parental InvolvementThis project represents a partnership between Penn State, the Center for Schools and Communities and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. With a planning grant from the Heinz Foundation, this collaborative is exploring “best practices” of family involvement strategies for school systems across the Commonwealth. Highly participatory in nature, this Institute draws together teams of parents, administrators, teachers and community members to identify ways to create strong family/school partnerships. Back to TopQuantum Opportunities ProjectThis evaluation project focuses on the York YWCA’s Quantum Opportunities Project. The QOP program was designed to address the many challenges and obstacles that disadvantaged youth face. QOP focused on developing basic skills (academic and functional) for future success, strengthening life and social skills to make better choices and operate more effectively with families and peers, broadening horizons through cultural trips and other experiences, and taking pride in the community through active service. Additionally, this evaluation has a process component to assess board and systems functioning . Back to TopPromoting Social and Emotional Competence in Head Start Children and Their FamiliesA partnership with two Pennsylvania Head Start sites (Lycoming-Clinton Head Start and Capital Area Head Start) to develop, implement and evaluate a teacher-implemented, school-based, prevention program to meet the mental health needs of Head Start children. Lycoming-Clinton Head Start Family Child Care Mentoring Evaluation CAECTI evaluated the effectiveness of Lycoming-Clinton’s Head Start Family Child Care Mentoring Program. Back to TopEvaluation of Healthy Families of Harrisburg ProjectThis is an evaluation of the Nurse Family Partnership program in the Harrisburg area determining the effectiveness of this program. Back to TopEarly Childhood TaskforceA statewide look at the overall quality of early care and education quality in 372 facilities. This study led by CAECTI with partnering support by the Universities Children’s Policy Collaborative collected program quality data from Head Start, Nursery Schools, Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Homes, Group Child Care Homes, and Neighbor-Relative Care settings throughout Pennsylvania. It was the largest and most comprehensive study conducted of the early care and education system. Back to TopPartnership Model for Diffusion of Proven PreventionAn assessment of the effectiveness of a model for the diffusion of empirically validated prevention programs focused on adolescent substance abuse and mental health. The project is being conducted in 14 communities in Iowa and Pennsylvania. Back to TopLebanon County Mentor Training ProgramFunding for the CAECTI infant caregiver mentoring program was transferred to Lebanon County. Back to TopCCC York County Relative/Neighbor CareTwo grants to provide training on the use of home based early childhood environment rating scales to a group of childcare evaluators and trainers. Back to TopPittsburgh StarsFunding for CAECTI to evaluate the effectiveness of the Louise Child Care, Pittsburgh early childhood mentoring program which included programs for infancy, accreditation, directors of programs, center based staff, home based staff, public school teachers, and special needs/inclusive practices. Back to TopDauphin County Outcomes EvaluationEvaluation of training and technical assistance project, which focuses on raising capacity of small, local, nonprofit organizations throughout Dauphin County. Back to TopCaregiver MentoringCAECTI has developed several innovative mentoring programs for caregivers, directors and parents that have been evaluated extensively. The infant caregiver mentoring program has received a great deal of national recognition because it is the only mentoring program to utilize random clinical trials in evaluating the effectiveness of the program. Back to Top
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